In her first lead role, junior Stefany Lopez played Wilbur, a runt pig destined for pork chops, who was saved by the animal-loving Fern Arable, played by Em Clark in her first play on the high school stage, and a word-weaving spider, Charlotte, Caitlin Brosas, a junior who graced the stage for two years in show choir, but performed in her first play.

After Lurvy, played by seasoned actor Zenon Wiatrowski, finds the words “Some Pig” in Charlotte’s web, the Zuckermans, Jane Lewis and Giacomo DePasquale, take Wilbur to the fair, where Templeton, a rat with a food addiction, played by Natalie Gallo, a freshman to CHS and the stage, is persuaded to find new words. Unc, the Elvis-impersonating big pig next door, played by Sybilla Vargas in their 3rd production at CHS, wins the blue ribbon, but Wilbur is awarded a special prize just for him! Charlotte’s babies, Joy, Nelle, and Arina, stay and Wilbur enjoys new adventures with his friends on the farm.

Junior Stefany Lopez took the role as Wilbur in Charlotte’s Web, a role she said came as a surprise. “I was in disbelief,” Lopez said. “I didn’t audition for Wilbur, I auditioned for a side character. But I got the lead.”

Lopez described the most challenging part of the role as embodying a personality very different from her own. “Wilbur is very loud and dramatic, jumpy,” she said. “I tend to be more quiet and shy in real life.” To prepare, she said she repeatedly rehearsed her lines in front of a mirror “like 10,000 times.”

She described Wilbur as “innocent and dramatic,” noting that friendship is at the center of the character’s world. One moment she pointed to as defining the role was Wilbur’s final conversation with Charlotte, when he says thank you for her work to save his life. The role also pushed Lopez to grow as a performer. “I learned that playing characters with different personalities requires you to walk differently,” she said, adding that she “became an extrovert in the play.”

One of her favorite scenes involved Wilbur’s energetic storytelling. “My favorite scene was when I had to describe my day and I was running around and when I did a flip,” she said. She also pointed to her favorite line in the play: ” A good life is much more important than just living a long life.”

Beyond performance, Lopez said the experience helped her feel more connected to others in the play. “I got to pretend to be in a world where everything was sunshine and rainbows,” she said. “And meeting new people, and being in a club where I really do feel that I belong.” Like Wilbur, Lopez says that her “friendships are diverse.”

Lopez said she hopes audiences take away a simple message: “Friendship really does come in all shapes and sizes. Anyone can be friends.”